Frozen french fry dispensers are known in the art. An example is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,498 issued to Cahlander et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,847 issued to Cahlander et al; and U.S. Pat. No. 5, 191,918 issued to Cahlander et al. Each of the foregoing patents discloses a french fry dispenser which includes a main storage bin, a device for moving the fries from the main storage bin into a secondary location, a means for holding the fries in the secondary location, a pneumatic cylinder apparatus for stopping empty baskets until a load basket request is made; an apparatus for moving empty cooking baskets into a position under the secondary storage location; and a pneumatic cylinder apparatus for moving baskets filled with the fries to a staging area.
While the disclosed dispenser automates the process of dispensing frozen articles and has been successful in the marketplace, there are several areas in which the dispenser may be improved. First, the pneumatic cylinder apparatus used for stopping the plurality of empty baskets until a load basket request is made and the pneumatic cylinder apparatus for automatically moving the basket filled with the fries to a staging area are often not desired by the end users. Compressed air (or other fluid) generally drives the pneumatic cylinder. While a pneumatic cylinder apparatus is often used to move an item from one position to another position, a substantial amount of noise is created from the compressor. Also, the seals and/or hoses used in a pneumatic cylinder apparatus may leak because of wear and tear, aging or other defects. The compressor may also become overheated after extensive uses of the apparatus, causing the overload protection switch to open which would disable the dispensing unit from operating for minutes even to hours. Further, a pneumatic cylinder apparatus used in a fry dispenser generally requires a low pressure for safety reasons. Furthermore, in using a pneumatic cylinder apparatus for a fry dispenser, grease often leaks into the pneumatic part of the apparatus which requires periodic maintenance, e.g. requiring frequent adjustment for the pneumatic cylinders to maintain operation. This is one of the user's major concerns. Other issues of a pneumatic cylinder apparatus which cause the need for maintenance are wear and tear, and clogging due to shortening or other airborne contamination. And further yet, especially in a low pressure pneumatic cylinder apparatus, it is generally difficult to adjust/maintain the speed of movement.
Therefore, there arises a need in the art for an electric version of a dispenser apparatus which is capable of dispensing articles, such as frozen fries, in a similar manner but overcoming the above mentioned disadvantages. Such electric version of the dispenser apparatus should also provide for an accurate control without the need for periodic maintenance for a basket lift and a stop gate control, etc.